Wire rolling mill



Oct. 14, 1952 y v J. RozlEREs 2,613,560

WIRE ROLLING MILL v Filed D eo. 5, 1946 2 SHEETS- SHEET 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY WN NN QM Nm. MM. WM. km,

ct. 14, 1952 J, ROZIERES 2,613,560

WIRE ROLLING MILL Filed DEC. 3, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 INVENTOR JFA/V Auen Lows Raz/5R55 ATTOR EY Patented Oct. 14, 1952 Apluri-:DQSTATES PATENT oFFlcl;

' Appiicatipnneeember 3, 1946, serial No. 713,737

" In vFrance September 17, 1946 In order thatv metal wires .may be rolled with high accuracy theA rolls -of wire rolling units must be arranged to face one another exactly. The usual play occurring in the bearings of the roll housings cannot be tolerated when the pass sections tend to throw the wire under treatment out of alignment as aV result of lateral displacement of the rolls. To counteract said play it has been found necessary to mount the rolls on needle-shaped roller bearings, instead of ball bearings. However, the latter require a relatively large space, since'it. is necessary, for obtaining suiiiciently deep passes, to employ rolls having as small a diameter as itis possible to construct. On the other hand, in order to obtainI good synchroniaation of the Various rolling units making up a wire rolling'train, ordinary pillow-block. bearings cannot be employed. However, needleshaped roller bearings always give rise to axial thrusts due to the fact that such rollers dispose themselves obliquely as a result of both the peripheral clearance existing between. them and the braking effect produced by their ends which bear against the rollerrace. Such thrusts are continuous (in the case of inclined or vertical shafts) and intermittent (in the case of horizontal shafts). These thrusts always tendl to displace the rolls with respect to one another, an action which destroys the accuracy of the machine.

The present invention aims to permit rotation, without end play, of the rolls in a wire rolling unit in their bearings, as well as to permit vertical displacements, also without end play, of the bearings in the roll. housings of the unit, by the provision of a systemvv-hich` takes up yieldably all the play which would iniiuence the lateral shifting of a roll in the roll unit. y

The two bearings of a roll may be mounted in a single block. Such an arrangement is advantageous in that it brings about a thorough alignment of thetwo needle-shaped roller bearings and tends to decrease lateral thrusts caused by said rollers, but-it is notan indispensable feature of the invention. A

In order that the inventionmayV be well understood and readily carried into effect, the same will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which show, by way ci example, two embodiments thereof andin which:

Fig. 1 is a sectionallview showing the mounting of a roll in a wire rolling unit, according to the present invention; and Y Fig. 2 is a iragmentaryview of another mounting of such a roll. I

3 claims. (c1. sli-55) The block I is adapted to receive the needleshaped roller bearings 2 and 3 in cylindric members 4, 5, respectively, machined concentrically with respect to the axis of the roll 6 which has journals 'I and 8 adapted tov rotate inthe bearings 2 and 3.

The faces 9 and II of the block I, which are I parallel to each other., are adapted to slide without playbetween the columns I2, I3, Hand I5 of the roll housing. The end edges, disposed at right angles to the axis of the roll 6 of the block I,. abut on one side against parallel, slides. I5 secured, as by bolts I'I, to the columns lI4 andv I5.

At the other end, the end edges of the block I are acted upon by guides I8 each pressed at I9 against the corresponding column I2 and I3, respectively, and at 2| against the said end edges of the block I, by springs 22, which are, for example, in the shape of Belleville washers, compressed by nuts 23.

The springs 22 are selected to withstand lateral thrusts caused by the needle-shaped rollers and pass shapes. They permit the block` I to slide without any lateral play at right angles to the plane of the drawing. This sliding is necessary for the purpose of regulating the distance between the rolls.

The roll 6 itself is maintained without end play in the bearings as follows:

The journal l, which is adapted to be motordrven at 24, may-rotate freely in the needleshaped roller bearings 2. n

The journal 8 may rotate freely in the needleshaped roller bearing 3. The free end of journal 8 carries, disposed between its shoulder 25 and a cup-like member 26 which is pressed by a nut 2l screwed on the threaded end- 2B of `journal 8, the central race 23 of a double thrust ball bearing of which one outer race 3| is pressed, by a ring 32, towards the roll 6. The other outer. race 33 of this ball bearing is strongly pressed, by a suitably shaped cap 34, acted upon by a spring composed for example of Belleville washers 35, surrounding a nipple 36 coaxial with the cap 34 and roll 6. This spring is acted upon by an adjustable plug 3l which maybe screwed down or up within a cover member 38 adapted to maintain the cylindrical member 5 in place in the block- I .K A cover member 38a holds members 2- and 4 in position.

The spring 35 is selected to withstand lateral thrusts due to inclinations of the needle rollers and pass sections.

In this construction, since the 'rcllf has no 3 end play within the block I and the latter has no end play within the roller housing, it is clear that there is provided a system of mounting rolls of a wire rolling unit, in which the roll 6 will have absolutely no end play.

It is also clear that the same effect would be obtained if the block I were divided into two parts, each corresponding to one of the two roll journals, provided of course that end play is prevented by guiding the support of the thrust roller bearings in a manner similar to that used for the block I.

However, the use of a single block carrier of bearings as shown, permits a better alignment of such bearings and decreases lateral thrusts caused by the needle-shaped rollers. The takingup of end play of the thrust may also be effected according to the invention in the case of ordinary cylindric pillow-block bearings when they are used instead of ball bearings. Lateral displacement of the rolls in a wire rolling unit for the purpose of causing the grooves of the rolls to face one another may be effected by any suitable means (forming no part of this invention, hence not described herein) adapted to displace and shift the thrust, for example, by displacing the bearing carrying member in the block I.

In Figure 2, whichI represents only one of the trunnions of the roll, there is shown a mounting in which account is taken of the fact that the rolling mill has its rolls inclined at an angle of 45 degrees. Owing to this inclination, the needle bearings are subjected to an end friction which subjects their lower end to a greater braking action, which causes them to be disposed in an inclined position about the axis 40. As a result of this inclination of the needles in the roller bearing, there is an axial reaction on the axis 40, similar to that obtained by screwing in a screw, which tends to displace the axis of the rolling mill upwardly. In operation this reaction tends to urge the roll with force against the stop 4I. Under these conditions,y therefore, it suices to employ a single thrust bearing, for example one having relatively deep grooves. A spring 42, which is compressed between the race of the needle roller bearing and the race 43 of the thrust bearing by a cap 44 secured withinthe piece 5 ofthe block I and bearing against cover member 45, merely serves to maintain, against the force of gravity, the roll applied against its abutment whenever the machineis stopped, i. e., when the thrust due to the needle rollers ceases. In other respects the structure of the embodiment of Fig. 2 is substantially like that of Fig. 1.

It will be understood that the invention is not limitedv to the particular details described and shown, and changes may be made therein without substantially departing from the scope of the invention which is intended to be dened in the accompanying claims, the specific description hereinabove relating merely to some operative embodiments for carrying out the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a rolling mill having a frame with parallel columns and having working rolls journalled in needle roller bearings carried in sliding members in said frame, a bearing construction coinprising, a block having two parallel lateral faces, said block being slidable along said faces between said columns in a direction perpendicular to the axes of said rolls, fixed guiding slides on said columns engaging one end face of said block, seco-nd guiding slides on said columns engaging the opposite end face of said block, adjustable spring means acting on said second slides pressing the slides against said end face, bearing housings coaxially mounted in said block, said needle roller bearings being carried in said sliding members by said bearing housings and journaling the opposed necks of the working roll, a thrust bearing at one 'of said roller necks mounted in one of said bearing housings, said housing having an inner abutment engaging said thrust bearing, one race of said thrust bearing being fixed to said roller neck, and spring means acting on said thrust bearing to press the same against said abutment, said two spring means acting on said slides and said thrust bearing being of sufficient strength to counteract any normal lateral thrust on said working roll.

2. In a rolling mill having a frame with parallel columns and having working rolls journalled in needle roller bearings carried in sliding members in said frame, a bearing construction comprising, a block slidable with two lateral faces parallel tothe axes of said rolls between correspending faces of said columns in a direction perpendicular to said axes, fixed guiding slides on said columns perpendicular to said axes engaging one end face of said block, second guiding slides on said columns engaging the opposite end face of said block, both of said end faces being perpendicular to the axes of said rolls, adjustable spring means acting on said second slides pressing the slides against said end face, bearing housings coaxially mounted in said block, said needle roller bearings lbeing carried in said sliding members by said bearing housings and journalling the opposed necks of the. working roll, a double thrust bearing at the roll neck on the side of the mill opposite said spring slides and mounted in one of said bearing housings, said housing having an outwardly facing inner abutment, said double thrust bearing having a rotating mill race fixed to said roll neck, and two fixed outer races one of which engages said abutment in said bearing housing, a cap-shaped member covering the end face of said roll neck and engaging with its.

rim the other of said fixed outer races, a cover member xed to said block and covering said cap-shaped member, an adjustable screw member mounted in said cover member, and spring means between said cap-shaped member and said screw member acting to press said first outer race against said abutment.

3. A bearing construction for a rolling mill having inclined working rolls journalled in needle roller bearings and a frame with parallel columns perpendicular to said working rolls, said bearing construction comprising a block slidable with two-lateral faces between said columns in a di- ,Y rection perpendicular to said inclined rolls,

means preventing any lateral displacement of said block in a direction perpendicular to said columns, bearing housings coaxially mounted in said block, said needle roller bearings being carried with their outer races in said bearing housings and journalling the opposed necks of the work roll, a ball thrust bearing at the upper end of said inclined working roll mounted in one of said bearing housings, said housing having an inwardly facing abutment means, said thrust bearing having two concentrical races, the inner race of which being fixed to said upper r-oll neck above said needle roller bearing and the outer l race engaging said abutment, and a helical spring mounted about said roll neck between the outer races of said needle roller bearing and said ball 5 thrust bearing, said spring thereby pres-sing said Number thrust bearing against said abutment and being 1,891,579 of sufficient strength to counteract the weight 2,200,837 of the roll. 2,205,049 JEAN ROZIERES. 5 2,299,631

REFERENCES CITED Number The followlng references are of record 1n the 242,779 file of this patent: 437 015 l0 UNITED STATES PATENTS 607,741

Number Name Date 1,491,992 McCuen Apr. 29, 1924 Name Date Schreck Dec. 20, 1932 Fass May 14, 1940 Rohn June 18, 1940 Klein Oct. 20, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Nov. 19, 1925 Great Britain Oct. 22, 1935 Germany Nov. 21, 1931 Germany Mar, 16, 1939 France July 28, 1930 

